The Darkness Within
by Emerald Smoke
Summary: Hermione's parents as she knows them turn out to not be her real ones. Her whole life changes on her seventeenth birthday, and she soon falls in love with the most unlikely person *CHAPTER 9 NOW UP!!!*
1. The Revelation

**__**

The Darkness Within

Okay, this is my second attempt at writing a fanfic. My first I decided to stop writing, because I felt it was going nowhere....that and I received a total of *nine* reviews. I plan on finishing this one though, no matter what, unless something suddenly happens and I can no longer write. But, I doubt that'll happen. Anyway, read on and PLEASE REVIEW!! I'm hoping to get at least ten reviews on this one. (lol!)

disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. does. I do own the plot though, and also Giselle and Gregoire D'Everuex

***************************************************************

It was a beautiful, warm Friday morning when Hermione Granger awoke from her peaceful sleep. She smiled as her cat Crookshanks rubbed its head against her hand, obviously wanting to be petted. " 'Morning Crooks." She took a few minutes to let her eyes adjust to the light pouring in from her bedroom window, illuminating her pale yellow bedroom walls. Slowly, she arose, stretched, then turned on her cd player and preceded to straighten up her room. She hummed along with the cd, which was playing "Perfect Memory" by Remy Zero while making her bed. Ten minutes later she looked around her room making sure everything looked okay. After checking everything over, she headed to her bathroom to shower. A short while later, she was sitting on her floral bed putting on makeup. She was wearing a pair of stonewashed jeans and a baby blue tank top, and a pair of star shaped silver earrings with small aquamarines in the middle of each star. She french-braided her hair into two braids, and left little tendrils out to frame her face. Once she had begun to coat her lips in lipgloss, she heard a tapping on her window. "Hedwig!" She nearly fell off her bed in her rush to run to the window. 

"Hey sweetie, what do you have for me?," she asked while opening the window. Hedwig fluttered onto her bed and sat still so Hermione could untie the package from her. Once it was off of her, Hedwig remained on Hermione's bed, cooing while staring at Crookshanks. The cat was slowly creeping its way towards the bird, but Hedwig was not the least bit afraid of the cat. She was practically taunting Crookshanks to come near her.

Hermione opened the small brown box Hedwig had brought. _'Oh my god', _she thought. She reached into the box and pulled out a silver ring with a breathtakingly beautiful square shaped blue stone in the middle. She looked back into the box and saw a small piece of parchment there that said _For Hermione_. She pulled out the parchment and opened it up. It read:

__

Hermione,

Happy birthday to my amazing angel. Yes, the ring's real, just in case you were wondering. The blue stone is called a London Blue Topaz. I bought it when Ron and I were out shopping with his family. (His dad wanted to go to a muggle mall). I saw it and knew you would love it. Have a wonderful birthday and I'll see you when school starts back up. I love you.

-Harry

Hermione slipped the ring onto her finger; it was a perfect fit. She stared down at the ring's elegant radiance. Just then Hedwig bent down and nipped at her finger, as if she was reminding her to reply to Harry. Hermione walked over to her desk, grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, and wrote:

__

Harry,

Thank you so much for the ring. It is absolutely amazing. I can't believe you bought it for me. It must have cost you a fortune. I wouldn't have cared whether or not it was real. All that matters is that its from you. That's what counts. I love you too, and I'll see you in a month.

-Hermione

She folded up the paper and tied it to Hedwig. A minute later the bird swooped out of her room. Hermione was watching it sail off into the morning light before hearing her mother's voice calling her from downstairs. 

"Hermione! Come downstairs! We have a surprise for you!"

"Coming," yelled Hermione.

As she made her way down the polished oak wood staircase, the smell of bacon and eggs wafted through her nose. She smiled when she turned to enter the Victorian styled kitchen and saw breakfast waiting on the table for her, along with gifts from her parents. "Happy Birthday," they chimed as she sat down at the table. 

"Wow, you really outdid yourselves this year," she said while taking a biscuit.

"Well it's not everyday our only child turns seventeen," said her mother.

When the family had finished their breakfast, Jonathon Granger ordered his daughter to open her gifts. 

"This one's from your grandmother," said her father, handing her a lumpy package. It was a knitted, burnt orange sweater. 

"Always count on your dad's mother to give you something like that," said Anne Granger, handing her daughter another package. "This one's from us."

It was a detailed book about the Salem witch trials. Hermione laughed. 

"I love it!"

"We thought you might. We found it funny seeing as you're a witch and all," said her father.

"Thank you," said Hermione, opening up her book.

Her parents started cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. When they made sure she had fully immersed herself in the book, they whispered among themselves.

"I think we should tell her Anne."

"No! She's not old enough!," Anne hissed.

"Yes she is! She's far more mature than most teenagers her age."

"I just don't think-"

"Anne." Jonathon looked into his wife's eyes. "I received a letter from them today. They are going to be here in fifteen minutes. It's time she knew," he whispered.

Anne silently nodded and turned off the faucet. They slowly made their way back over to the kitchen table, and sat down next to Hermione.

"Mione," said Anne.

"Hmm?," she replied, not looking up from her book.

"There's something we need to tell you."

"Okay, shoot." She still wasn't looking up from her book.

"Honey," started her father, pulling the book out of her hands. "There's something we need to tell you."

Hermione stared at her parents' serious expressions. She knew something wasn't right. "Guys, what's going on?"

Jonathon took a deep breath. "Hermione, we're not..."

He looked at Anne.

"Sweetie, we're not really your parents."

Hermione burst out laughing. "Good one guys, good one. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back upstairs and see if Ron has sent anything yet."

"Hermione," said her mother in a serious tone.

Hermione stopped laughing when she saw that her parents still had serious faces. She sat back down. 

"Now, as I was saying before, we're not your parents," said Jonathon.

"What? W-What do you mean 'We're not your parents'? Of course you are," said Hermione in a shaky voice.

Anne shook her head. 

"No, we're not."

Hermione was overcome with so many emotions at once, and was highly confused. "Of course you're my parents. I don't have any others."

"Yes you do," said Anne.

"Well where are they and where the hell have they been in the last seventeen years?," said Hermione, her voice rising.

"Shh, Mione calm down," said Jonathon.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? How the hell am I supposed to be calm? I don't even know who you are! Everything I've always known about you is all a lie! For all I know you could've kidnapped me!"

"Hermione, please. Everything you know about us is all true. We didn't kidnap you, or anything of the sort. We adopted you."

"You what?"

"We adopted you. Now no more questions, until they get here."

"And just who are 'they'?"

"Your parents. They'll be here in about ten minutes, and then all of your questions will be answered."

Nothing more was said after that for the next ten minutes. Hermione stared down at the kitchen table, running over what had just happened in her mind. After what seemed like an hour, they arrived.

There, standing in the middle of the kitchen, was a stunning woman with bushy brown hair. Next to her, a tall, slender, handsome middle-aged man. The woman looked at the Grangers, then at Hermione. In a French accent she whispered, "_'Ermione?_" 

Hermione, slightly startled by the sudden apparation of the two people into the room, nodded her head. 

"I am Giselle D'Evereux, and this is my husband Gregoire. We are your parents."


	2. D'Evereux Manor

__

Hey guys! Wow! I got 11 reviews on my first chapter! Woo hoo!!! That's more than I got on all four chapters on my other story combined. Yay! I'm so proud! Well, enough of me jabbering on... here's chapter two. Please REVIEW! It makes me so happy when you do. =)

Thanks to Plastic, michele, Ghetto Superstar, Samantha, gabbygoose, TriGemini, Elsa, bubbles-123, Anarchy Star, and Sophiebabe for reviewing!!!!

disclaimer: I don't own any of the HP characters. JK does. I do own Giselle and Gregoire D'Evereux.

********************************************************************

Hermione didn't move an inch. She just stared, searching for words to say. Finally, all she could get out was "Why did you abandon me?"

The beautiful woman that was her mother walked forward and looked down at Hermione. "I cannot tell you that now, I'm afraid, for you would not understand."

"Try me," replied Hermione while thinking of everything she'd been through in the last six years.

" 'Ermione, I'm afraid it's true. We cannot tell you now," said Gregoire, walking up next to Giselle.

"What we can tell you, is that we are returning for you now. We want you home."

Hermione turned her attention from the D'Evereuxs to the Grangers. Jonathon spoke up.

"Mione, I think you should go with them. You don't belong here. Its not your place. You are a witch, and you belong in the wizarding world."

Anne nodded her head in agreement.

Hermione returned her gaze to her newly found parents, and looked them over. Giselle had the same bushy brown hair, and the same skin tone that she had. Gregoire had the same dark brown eyes that were like pools of chocolate. Noting the obvious similarities between them, Hermione started to believe that they were actually her parents.

"'Ermione, if you go and get your things together we can leave," said her mother.

Hermione nodded, and without a single word, rose from her chair and ascended the stairs leading to her room. Once she was inside, she sat on her bed and looked around. She had spent 17 years of her life in that house, in that room. She had many fond memories of her room; it was there that she had opened her letter saying that she had been accepted into Hogwarts. It was there that Hedwig glided gracefully in through the window with a letter from Harry telling Hermione for the first time that he was in love with her. Sighing, she silently began to gather her things.

****

+ + +

"Thank you for keeping her here all this time," said Giselle.

"No problem," replied Anne.

"And she has no idea that you are really of the wizarding world correct?," asked Gregoire.

"Correct. It was hard at first, not being able to use magic to clean, cook, and do other things, and living amongst these damn muggles didn't help one bit either. But, eventually we got used to it, and she never found out."

"Good. How are the elements?"

"Very well kept. We kept them until her sixteenth birthday. We charmed a pair of earrings and put them in there. We told her they belong to her great-great grandmother, so of course she has taken care of them. She keeps them locked safely away and only wears them on special occasions."

"What do the earrings look like?"

"Silver stars with blue stones in the middle."

"Excellent."

At that moment Hermione returned into the kitchen, with her trunk.

"Did you get everything you needed?," asked Anne.

"Yup. I used a Shrinking charm. There's nothing left in my room," replied Hermione softly.

"Well, we'd better be off then. We'll have to use floo powder since you can't apparate yet."

Hermione nodded and led the way to the fireplace. 

"I'll go first, and meet you there," said Gregoire. He took a pinch of the powder from a satchel in his pocket before handing it to his wife. He then stepped up to the fireplace, threw the powder into the flames, and walked in. With the emerald green flames flickering wildly around his body, he yelled "D'Evereux Manor", and disappeared.

"Our turn," said Giselle, smiling at Hermione.

Hermione timidly smiled back before turning to look at the Grangers. "I guess this is goodbye then."

"I guess so," replied Jonathon.

"You can come back and visit us whenever you want," said Anne.

"I promise I will come back and visit," replied Hermione, smiling.

Hermione walked up to her former parents and hugged them. Then without another word, she stepped into the flames and was off to D'Evereux Manor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione landed with a soft thud on a beautiful Italian rug in front of the fireplace. Quickly so that she wouldn't be in the way of her mother flooing into the house, she got up and dusted herself off. Her father was standing just a few feet away, watching her intently. "Well, what do you think?"

Hermione walked around the living room taking in its breathtaking elegance. A large Italian rug covered the oak wood floor, with black suede furniture on top of it. The fireplace was green marble, with a silver chain-metal cover. The mantelpiece above it was also made of oak, and many beautiful objects on it that looked as if they probably came from places all over the world. There were paintings on the wall done by Monet, and a lavish crystal chandelier overhead that illuminated the room, giving it a soft glow. Hermione held her breath. "Wow," she gasped.

"I'm glad you like it," said Giselle, walking up beside Hermione. She had just flooed inside.

Suddenly, a house elf bounded into the room dressed in an old potato sack. He stopped in front of Gregoire and bowed deeply. In a masculine, but high pitched voice he said "Excuse me, Master, but the chefs in the kitchens is needing your help. They is needing to know what your guests for tonight is liking to eat."

"Thank you Ducky. I shall be there shortly."

Ducky bowed once again and scurried out of sight.

Gregoire turned to Hermione. "I know that we didn't get to show you around as we would have liked, but we really need to get this situation sorted out."

Hermione smiled politely. "Its okay."

"Your room is upstairs to the left, the last door to your right down the corridor. We are having some old friends over for dinner tonight, and we'd like to introduce you to them. There should be a dress in the closet for you; I'd like you to wear it tonight," said Giselle.

"Sure."

"Would you like for me to send someone to come and take your things to your room?," asked Giselle kindly.

"No thanks, I can manage."

"All right then. We'll meet you back down here at seven o'clock sharp. Until then you are free to roam about the mansion." With that said, Giselle and Gregoire left the room towards the kitchens.

Hermione watched them leave until they were fully out of sight and then started towards her new room. When she got to the staircase she noticed that it looked like the ones she had seen in movies; two grand staircases on either side of a balcony overlooking the entrance-way into the manor. The stairs were highly polished, and were oak wood just like the floors. Her footsteps echoed in the empty hallway as she walked to her room. She stopped in front of her door, the last one on the right. '_Well, this is it. You're new bedroom,' _she thought to herself while opening the door. She was taken aback when she saw her room, and stood in the doorway gazing at it. 

Her room had to be at least three times bigger than her former bedroom, and that one was pretty big. It included her own fireplace, a large four poster bed (similar to the one in her Gryffindor dorm room, but more elegant with sheer white fabric draping across it), a large window that allowed the bright sunlight to flood the room, and a large bookshelf that covered an entire wall of the room. That was by far her favorite part. She was tempted to go and start digging through the books immediately, but stopped herself and decided to look in the bathroom connected to her room. She set her things down and opened the door and the far left corner of her room that led to the bathroom. Inside, she found a bathtub the size of a jacuzzi, a shower, a large mirror, and everything else you would find inside a bathroom. _'I'm beginning to like this place,' _she thought.

She decided not to go and roam the rest of the house, but instead unpacked all of her things and then picked out a book to read. She was fully immersed in a copy of "Wizarding Schools Throughout The World" when her mother came into the room.

"Hermione! It's almost seven o'clock dear! Why aren't you dressed yet?"

Hermione looked down at her watch. It read 6:30pm.

"I'm sorry, I must have gotten caught up in this book and lost track of the time."

"Its all right, but hurry and get dressed! Our guests will be here soon."

Giselle hurried toward the closet and pulled out a dress. It must have been the one she was talking about. 

"Here put this on," she said handing Hermione the dress. She then ran into the bathroom.

It was a floor length emerald green dress, that laced up on the top accentuating Hermione's curves. There were two rows of diamonds on the top that glittered when she walked. "Its so pretty," Hermione breathed once she had it on.

"I bought it just for you. I thought you'd like it," said Giselle smiling. "Here, put these on while I fix your hair." She handed Hermione a pair of clear, high heeled shoes with rows of diamonds in them. They looked like glass slippers. She heard Giselle muttering something under her breath as she put the last shoe on.

"There, all done. Now stand up and let me look at you."

Hermione stood and turned around. She looked absolutely stunning. Giselle had magicked her hair into and updo with many curls, and little tendrils outlining her face. She smiled. "You look gorgeous. Now come with me, its time to meet downstairs. Our guests should already be here."

Hermione followed her mother down the stairs and down the hall leading to the sitting room. She heard both male and female voices as she neared. Giselle cleared her throat.

"Lucius, Narcissa, this is my daughter Hermione."

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. '_Lucius?,' _she thought. '_It can't be! Then that means...' _ She looked around and came face to face with none other than...

"MALFOY!?"

Hee hee! Please review!! =)


	3. Goodnight, Ferret Boy

Hey everyone!! I've got 20 reviews now! Woo hoo! Hey, its good for me okay? lol! Thanks to my wonderful friend Monica for helping me sporadically through this chapter. Your little bits of ideas every so often really helped make things flow. I love ya Mon!!! =) Okay, enough of my mindless babble. Enjoy chapter 3 and please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!! It really does help to brighten my day! =D

Thanks to Plastic, envision, .:Avri:., Hai, Sam, gabbygoose, TriGemini, and babmidnight for reviewing!

disclaimer: all Harry Potter related stuff goes to the lovely JK. The D'Evereuxs, manor, and the plot are all mine.

**__**

Chapter 3:

Draco Malfoy was startled with the sudden outburst from the young woman in front of him. He didn't even want to be there in the first place. There were only two reasons why he came. The first was that he had been told that this couple's daughter was a very gorgeous girl. Needless to say that made him show great interest in the night's events. The second reason was that...well...he was forced to go. He would have had to come either way, gorgeous girl or not. He was instantly attracted once he set eyes on this girl, and he noticed that she looked very familiar. This attraction, however, came to an abrupt end when he saw her face contort into one of utter despisement...a face he had come to know all too well...

"MUDBLOOD?!" 

The two glared at each other, each with a passion of deep hatred for the other. Hermione turned to her mother.

"What the hell is _he_ doing here?" she demanded.

Lucius interjected. "I suggest you watch your tone, Miss Granger. It's not proper for _your type_ to speak to us like that," he said coldly.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Draco sneered.

It was Gregoire's turn this time. "Excuse me Lucius, but this is my daughter, and I don't want you to EVER talk down to her like that, ever again."

Hermione turned back to face Draco.

"_I_ am here because I just found out that the people I have been living with my entire life aren't really my parents, but Giselle and Gregoire are," she said motioning to them, her chocolate eyes still burning holes into Draco's brilliant silver ones. "I am a pureblood witch."

"Pureblood?" said Draco astonished.

"That's right," said Giselle. She had been watching Draco, Hermione, Gregoire, and Lucius bicker and decided that she should speak up. "Now, I don't want to hear another word uttered about this subject tonight. Hermione's had a lot to deal with in such a short amount of time, and I don't want to put any more stress on her than there already is. Now let's go eat."

Hermione smirked at Draco before following her parents into the dining room.

Draco looked up at his father, still at a loss for words. Lucius glanced down at him before muttering "Come, Narcissa," and ajourned to the dining room.

Draco stood in the sitting room alone for a minute or so, gathering his thoughts. '_Who does she think she is, speaking to me as if _I'm_ her inferior?' _He stopped in front of the fireplace, its golden glow made his eyes glint as if they held specks of diamonds in them. He decided to try and not let it get to him. Besides, she had always acted like that towards him. Ever since they first met on their very first day at Hogwarts. And, with friends like Potter and Weasley, there was no way she was going to act any different. Taking a deep breath, he ran his hand through his now spiked slivery-blonde hair and made his way into the dining room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The dining room was just as pretty as the sitting room. It had wooden floors, forest green wallpaper, and yet another dazzling crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling. The table was made of black marble with what looked like tiny mother-of-pearl serpents at each corner of the table. The chairs were painted black with high backs and matching suede cushions. Hermione decided that, after seeing the beauty that just the dining room contained, she would go exploring the entire house after dinner.

Gregoire and Giselle were seated at opposite ends of the table with Lucius and Narcissa on the right side, much to both Hermione's and Draco's chagrin. With the two Malfoys sitting together on one side, that only left two seats next to each other on the other side. As Hermione took her seat, she attempted to scoot her chair as far away from Draco's as possible without being too noticeable. Thankfully for her, it worked. 

The first course (which was tomato soup) was brought out right as everyone was seated. Now was time for the small talk.

"Hermione, dear, why don't you tell us about yourself? We'd love to know all about you since we have only known of your name and birthday for the last 17 years," said Gregiore before taking a mouthful of soup.

Hermione placed her spoon in her bowl and looked up at her father, carefully avoiding the eyes of Lucius Malfoy who sat directly in front of her. Ever since meeting him in her second year at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley, she hadn't exactly felt comfortable around him.

"Well, I attend Hogwarts, I'm at the top of my class, and I was a prefect last year. I'm hoping to be accepted as this year's Head Girl."

"Really? We attended Hogwarts as well! That's where we met. Which house are you in?" asked Giselle.

"Gryffindor."

Gregoire snorted in his soup. "Excuse me?"

Hermione suddenly became very nervous, and a bit angry at the same time. "Gryffindor," she replied in a shaky voice.

"Hm," muttered Giselle. 

"What? What's wrong with me being a Gryffindor?" Hermione asked hotly. "I'm proud of being a Gryffindor!"

"We were Slytherins. Our entire family was. You're the first to be a Gryffindor," replied Gregoire.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

'_That's odd,' _Draco thought to himself. '_Her entire family was in Slytherin. There's got to be a major reason for why she was put into Gryffindor.'_

Little did Draco know that his father knew the answer to his question. But all the while his father stayed silent, listening to the conversation between the former mudblood and her parents.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Hermione didn't know what to say. What would her friends think? What would Harry think? Oh Harry, she hadn't even thought of him since that morning, before everything changed. Before her whole life changed. What would he think if she told him that her real parents as well as her entire family were Slytherins? She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. '_I need to be alone,' _she thought to herself.

"Excuse me," she said and dashed from the table, her emerald green dress flowing behind her.

"Hermione wait!" Gregoire called out.

"I need to be alone!" she shouted.

Everyone at the table was silent. "Perhaps we should continue with our meal. I shall speak with Hermione later tonight, when she's calmed down a bit."

The five people finished their meal, Draco staying silent mostly, and Lucius, Narcissa, Giselle, and Gregoire discussing matters at the Ministry. Afterwards, while Draco and Hermione's parents went back to the sitting room for brandy, Draco decided to roam the house.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Hermione was sitting Indian-style on her bed wearing scarlet plaid pajama pants and a large solid scarlet shirt with the word "Seeker" written across it in gold. She felt like wearing the outfit for two reasons: one, she felt like wearing the Gryffindor colors at the moment, and two, the shirt was Harry's. She had taken her hair down while she was soaking in the bathtub, and it was now down framing her face. 

'_Merlin! Why did this have to happen to me?'_ She thought. In just a few short hours, her life had changed drastically and she didn't know what to do. Her parents are Slytherins and are friends with Draco's family. That in itself was enough to make her frightened to tell anyone, especially Harry. She was contemplating owling him a letter, telling him everything to him in detail, but she hadn't done so. She was still holding a quill in her hand, staring down at the blank piece of parchment on her head. '_What will he think if I tell him everything?' _she wondered. _'Will he still think of me the same way? Will he still love me?' _Sighing, she got up from her bed. '_Maybe a walk around the house will help me clear my thoughts. Besides, I was planning on exploring earlier.' _She put on her fluffy white slippers and matching robe and set out to peruse the manor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco knew his way around the house very well. After all, he had played there when he was little, and had stayed there many times when his parents had to leave on business. He sometimes had to go with them when the D'Evereuxs were leaving on business also. He didn't know at the time what they were doing, but he knew now. They were Deatheaters, and on many occasions they had to go and visit the Dark Lord. Why they had to see him, however, he did not know. Most likely it was to plan their uprising. Draco shuddered at the thought. He didn't want to become a Deatheater at all, but he knew it was imminent. If Lucius wanted him to he would...it was very difficult arguing with his father.

He had went straight to his favorite place: the library. No one knew he liked the library, not even Crabbe and Goyle. It was something that he chose to keep to himself so that he may keep the intimidating persona others had made for him over the years.

The library was huge. It was covered wall to wall and floor to ceiling with books. Latters were scattered everywhere so that the books on the topmost shelves could be reached, and there were mahogany tables and oversized maroon chairs that sank when you sat in them. He walked over to one of the many shelves and grabbed _"Mysteries of the Forbidden Forest" _and sat down in one of the chairs. After about an hour he was asleep, his head leaning against the back of the chair and his legs propped up on one of the tables.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After an hour Hermione had seen nearly everything: the living room, the kitchen, the study, the gardens, countless rooms and hallways, her parents' bedroom, the ballroom, and the front lawn. Now, she was looking for a library. She thought that with a house that big, how could you not have a library? 

Ten minutes later she was opening the door in the west wing of the house that led her inside to the library. Her voice caught in her throat when she looked up and saw rows upon rows, hundreds upon hundreds of books. Without hesitation, she ran up to the shelves and started digging through the books. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco had been watching her since she walked in. He'd been awake for ten minutes before she walked in the door, and doubted that she even saw him in there. '_Wow,' _he thought. '_Granger has changed a lot.'_ Indeed she had. She was no longer the skinny, bushy-haired, know-it-all girl he'd known since they were first years, but a very beautiful woman. Her form had filled out more so instead of being stick straight she had curves. Her hair was no longer bushy, but instead shiny and very wavy. But, despite the physical difference, she was still Hermione Granger, friend of the Weasel and girlfriend of Potter the Boy Wonder. He doubted that would ever change. He remembered earlier that evening, when she had looked at him so coldly, with so much hate and anger. 

He chuckled as he stood. '_Time to make Granger regret how she acted earlier tonight.'_

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione was skimming through a copy of _"The Life and Times of Nicolas Flamel" _when she felt a pair of lips brush up against her ear. "Remembering the good old days with Scarhead and the Weasel?" Draco asked, his hot breath cascading down Hermione's neck. 

Hermione turned around only to come face to face with her enemy. She had to lift her head up just to see him; at 6 '1, Draco towered over her 5 '6 frame.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy." Hermione pushed past him and settled herself on one of the maroon chairs.

"Granger, Granger, Granger," he said, making his way towards her. "Where are your manners?"

"I have none when it comes to speaking with you," she replied coldly, not even glancing up from her book.

"Ouch, that hurts," he said sarcastically. "You know, I'd watch it if I were you. I'm very close to you parents."

"So?"

"I'm practically the son they never had. I know all about them....their family history....Do you want to know about their past? I'm sure if Potter found out he'd think very differently of you."

Hermione snapped her book shut. "Don't you dare try to bring Harry into this, Malfoy."

"Aw, why not? Trying to protect your little hero are you?" he snickered.

Hermione got up from her seat and advanced towards Draco. "Stop right now, or I'll...I'll-"

"You'll what?" Draco interrupted. "Send Potter and his group of goody two shoes after me? Ha!"

Hermione stopped. "Why do you always have to do this? You're always harassing us just because Harry wouldn't become friends with you six years ago."

Draco's smirk faded from his face.

"That's not true."

"What is it then?" Hermione pressed on. "Is it because his name's been down ever since he was born for defeating Voldemort? Is it because everyone, except you Slytherins, likes him? Is it because you know he's a much better seeker than you'll ever be?"

"You'd like to think that wouldn't you?" he sneered. 

"You don't exactly hide it very well, do you? He's beaten you in everything, and it just eats you away inside, doesn't it? You can't stand the fact that he's better than you," said Hermione, sauntering up closer to Draco. She had him cornered, and she knew it.

Draco didn't reply. Hermione was less than a foot away from him staring coldly into his eyes.

"What's wrong, Draco? Cat got your tongue?" Hermione teased. "Well, if you're not going to say anything, I'm going back to my bedroom. I could have a more intelligent conversation with a rat." Hermione picked up her book and walked to the door. She stopped when she got to it and turned around. "Goodnight, Ferret Boy." Hermione smirked, opened the door, and walked back to her bedroom with an air of newfound confidence at just making a complete fool of Draco Malfoy.

__

Oh snaps, Malfoy got told! Hee hee!!! Now make my day and click on the little button that says "GO" at the bottom left of your screen and review. =)

**Emerald Smoke


	4. 2 Full Weeks!

Hey Everyone! I now have 37 reviews! I'm so happy!!!!!!!!!! Sorry I didn't get the fourth chapter out sooner. I've had a lot of stuff going on with Winterguard and school, so I didn't have much of a chance to write. But, now that we're on spring break I'll have many opportunities to write. Chapter five WILL be out by Wednesday, so be sure to look for it. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to REVIEW! =D 

Thanks to pinkchicklet, Anarchy Star, Yaika, TriGemini, Wytil, Hota-chan, ErInWrItEs, plastic, SnOwAnGeL, Nikki, Sam, sarah, Lee Weasley, avri, and Xirleb70 for reviewing!

disclaimer: all Harry Potter related stuff goes to the lovely JK. The D'Evereuxs, manor, and the plot are all mine.

**__**

It had been two weeks since Hermione and Draco's encounter in the library that night. Draco was lying on his bed in his room, running over those words she had spoken to him over and over again. 

__

"He's beaten you in everything.........You can't stand the fact that he's better than you." 

Draco clenched his fist. _'He's not better than I am,' _he thought to himself. 

He wasn't going to let her words get to him. He had to prove her wrong.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione sat in the library, a stack of books in front of her. It was now a mere two weeks until school started, and she still had to go and get her supplies from Diagon Alley. _'I haven't even gotten a letter from Hogwarts to say whether or not I made this year's Head Girl,' _she thought.

She hadn't spoken to Harry since her birthday. She was still confused at what to say to him. Should she tell him everything? '_No, you'll lose him if you do,' _the nagging voice in the back of her mind stated. But she had to let him know sometime. '_I'll worry about it later,'_ she decided. 

That had been the only thing bothering her since her birthday. Ever since that night in the library, she had felt more confident in herself then she ever had before. Finally standing up to Draco Malfoy was something she had always wanted to do. She had done it once before in her third year, (she slapped him in the face), but he had continued to taunt her. This time, she had left him utterly speechless, and she was proud of herself.

Draco had crossed her mind many times since that night. '_Maybe I was too mean to him,' _she thought. '_Then again, he did bring it on himself. Besides, he's always been a jerk to me. Why should I feel guilty about making him feel like dirt? Now he knows what I've always felt like whenever he spoke to me.' _Before she could ponder on the subject any more, a jet black owl glided in through the large open window on the other side of the room, and landed softly on the armrest next to Hermione. 

"Why hello there," she said, petting the owl.

"She untied the letter from its leg before watching it soar back out the window. Flipping it over, she saw the Hogwarts seal and eagerly opened it. Her heart beat faster as she read its contents.

__

Dear Miss Hermione Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as this year's Head Girl. We hope that you will hold your new position with dignity along with this year's Head Boy.

Enjoy the rest of your summer, and we shall see you in two weeks.

Sincerely,

Professor M. McGonogall

Deputy Headmistress

"YES!" screamed Hermione. She reread the letter over and over again, elated that she had just been chosen as this year's Head Girl. Grinning as though she had just been awarded ten thousand galleons, she sprang from her chair and set off looking for Gregoire and Giselle to tell them the good news.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Gregoire, He would like to speak to us now." Giselle was standing in the doorway of her bedroom, looking at her husband walking down the hallway. Gregoire nodded, and made his way into the room. Once inside, he locked the door, and sat down on the bed. In less than a minute Voldemort's head was floating inside the fireplace, looking intimidatingly at the D'Evereuxs. "You wanted to speak to us my Lord?" asked Giselle.

Voldemort's floating head nodded. "I need you both up here tomorrow night. We need to finish the plans."

Giselle and Gregoire nodded.

"The elements are still with the girl?"

"Yes my Lord. She never takes them out of her sight."

"Does she know she has them yet?"

"No sir, we are very careful to not mention them in her presence."

"Good, good. Be here by 6 o'clock tomorrow evening. Oh, and you might want to pack a few things. You will be staying for 3 weeks."

Giselle and Gregoire stood and bowed deeply. "Yes my Lord," they said in unison.

With a sickening "pop", He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name's head vanished without a trace.

"We better start getting everything together. The Dark Lord will want to see everything we've come up with so far," said Gregoire. 

Giselle nodded and went over to a portrait of an icy-blue rushing river surrounded by rolling green hills and giant trees, and whispered _"Enivar"._ Instantly, the portrait opened revealing a neat stack of paper, and a list of people to contact once everything had been finalized. Giselle grabbed everything inside the hidden vault, locked and sealed it, and then proceded to place everything inside a large box. 

"Gregoire?"

"Hmm?" he replied. He was busy recovering the other half of their "project" from a trick drawer in their dresser.

"We're staying for three weeks correct?"

"Mm hm."

"What are we going to do about Hermione?"

Gregoire stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at his wife. "Well it's obvious, isn't it? We'll just send her to stay with Lucius and Narcissa."

Giselle looked confused. "But aren't they going too?"

"No, we're the only ones who were assigned this part of the project remember? I'll owl Lucius right now and ask him. I'm sure he won't mind."

Giselle nodded. "I'll go find Hermione and tell her the news."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione, still giddy about her letter, ran down the hallway towards her parents' bedroom. "Mum! Dad! I've got something to tell you!" As she rounded the corner, she ran smack dab into Giselle.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Hermione and the other figure. 

"Mum? I've been looking for you! Are you okay?" Hermione asked rubbing her forehead.

"Yes, I'm alright," replied Giselle in turn, also rubbing her forehead.

"Guess what? I got accepted as Head Girl!"

"Oh Hermione that's wonderful!"

Hermione grinned as she hugged her mother. "Oh, I've got something to tell you as well."

Hermione pulled away slightly and looked up at her mother. "Yes?"

"Your father and I have to go away for three weeks on business, so you will be staying with the Malfoys."

"WHAT?!" Hermione quickly stepped back.

"I'm sorry dear but you must. We can't let you stay here all by yourself."

"I'm seventeen! I think I'm old enough to stay home alone."

"Hermione no. I'm sorry, but you _will_ be staying with the Malfoys. Now, we leave tomorrow at 5 o'clock sharp. Be ready." With that, Giselle retreated back to her room and shut the door.

15 minutes later, Hermione was lying on her bed staring up at the ceiling. '_Two whole weeks living in the same house as Draco Malfoy,'_ she repeated in her head, over and over again. She was in a bit of a shock. _'He shouldn't be as big of a problem as he normally would be. And, just because I'm going to be staying in the same house doesn't mean that I have to spend every waking hour with him. Besides, I'll have to go to Diagon Alley at some point, and when I do I'll get to see Harry again.' _She smiled at this thought as she reached up to turn off the lamp next to her bed, the only light that was on in the room. She attempted to push Draco out of her mind and focus on Harry, but she couldn't. He just kept popping up, flashing his silver eyes maliciously, and smirking at her. "Merlin! I hate that boy!" she said through gritted teeth. Little did she know that in just a few hours' time, her thoughts would begin to change.

Well there you have it, chapter three. I hope y'all enjoyed it!!! Once again, I'm sorry for it being boring (and pretty short), but sometimes short boring chapters are necessary in making the story go. I WILL have chapter five out by Wednesday, I promise! (Unless the server goes down). Until then, please review! I love to hear your feedback! Oh, and if you're confused about what's going on between her parents and Voldemort (and the mention of the "elements") you should be! =) Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough.

**Emerald Smoke


	5. New feelings

Hey guys! I told you I'd have the fifth chapter out by Wednesday....even if it is 11:30 at night. But Wednesday is Wednesday, right? By the way, I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes in this chapter. I didn't have the time to look through it before I posted because I'm going out of town in about thirty minutes. Anway, please read and review. Happy reading!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter (sorry I didn't have the time to list everyone, but I'll make sure I include you in my thank you list on my next chapter).

disclaimer: all Harry Potter related stuff goes to the lovely JK. The D'Evereuxs, manor, and the plot are all mine.

**__**

Chapter 5:

The following day was bright and sunny. The wind was blowing lightly sending the sweet scent of the wildflowers everywhere. The trees were rustling softly, the birds were chirping, and the cumulus clouds created shapes as they moved lazily across the vast sky. It was an all around perfect day. 

Hermione sighed as she sat down on one of many stone benches in her mother's rose garden. In a little more than an hour she would have to leave to go to Malfoy manor, home of her hated enemy. She tried thinking of everything to cheer her up, but the only thing that was working at the moment was the fact that she looked very cute that day. She was wearing a knee length pale green skirt and a solid pale green shirt with wedged sandals. Her hair was hanging down her back in soft waves. It was a cute but comfortable look. 

'_I hope Harry owls me back before I leave,' _she thought. She had used one of her parents' owls and sent him a letter telling him to meet her in Diagon Alley on Friday, and to tell Ron to do the same. She didn't mention anything about her having to stay at Draco's though; she hadn't even told him about her real parents yet. She was still undecided on the subject, yet she was leaning more towards keeping it all from him. '_It's for his own good.' _

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco was sitting in his hammock outside, an evil smirk on his face. His father had just come and told him that Hermione was going to be staying with them for the rest of the summer holiday. '_I'm going to make her life a living hell for the rest of the summer,' _he thought. That wasn't all though. He had gotten his acceptance letter that morning stating that he had been selected as this year's Head Boy, and he figured that since Hermione was at the very top of their class (he was right behind her) that she was this year's Head Girl. '_All the more chances to torture her,' _he sneered. Draco layed there for a moment, enjoying the peacefulness that surrounded him as the wind ran through his hair, before he looked at his watch. "Time to go in. She'll be here soon," he muttered aloud.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Do you have everything darling?"

Hermione looked at her mother and nodded. "I double checked everything."

"All right then. Have fun all right?"

"Right. _Fun,_" muttered Hermione under her breath.

"Make sure and write to us, " added Gregoire.

"I will."

"Oh and Hermione, we got you this. Consider it a late birthday present."

Gregoire walked forward with a shimmering silver-toned owl and handed it to Hermione.

"Wow," she breathed taking the owl. "Thank you very much!"

"Don't mention it. Now take a pinch of powder and be on your way. The words to say are 'Malfoy Manor'. Narcissa will be waiting for you."

Hermione nodded. She set all of her things inside the fireplace and grabbed some floo powder from Giselle's satchel. "'Bye."

"'Bye darling. We'll see you soon."

Hermione stepped into the fireplace, yelled "Malfoy Manor!" and was off.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A few minutes later, Hermione was standing in the Malfoys' living room, brushing the chimney poweder off of herself.

"Welcome," said a woman's voice.

Hermione turned to see Narcissa Malfoy standing a few feet from her, her head held high in an important manner, her hands clasped together in front of her. She was wearing a long white dress, her blonde hair pulled tightly into a bun at the nape of her neck. She didn't have her face twisted up in a foul way as she had when Hermione first met her though. Hermione just figured it was because she was in her own home, and _nothing_ inside it could repulse her as much as people lower than herself.

Hermione smiled timidly.

"I am Narcissa Malfoy, but you may address me as Mrs. Malfoy."

Hermione nodded. "Nice to see you again Mrs. Malfoy."

"Now, if you'll follow me I'll lead you to your room."

"Okay, let me grab my things," said Hermione, turning around. She gasped. Her trunk, as well as her owl's cage, were gone.

"I believe your belongings have already been taken up to your room by the house-elves."

A small feeling of relief washed over Hermione.

"Please follow me."

Narcissa led Hermione through the manor, their footsteps echoing on the cold stone-tiled floor. They traveled past the study, up the staircase, and down the hall to their right. Finally, Narcissa stopped at Hermione's room. "Well, here you are. Dinner will be served at seven-thirty." Before Hermione could answer, Narcissa disapparated from the hallway.

Sighing, Hermione turned and opened her bedroom door.

"Hello dearie," drawled a cool voice.

Hermione jumped. "Malfoy! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Draco smirked. He was lying on his side on Hermione's bed. In one swift movement he got up, and strided towards her.

"This _is_ my house you know. I can go wherever I please."

"Well please go somewhere else. I'm not in the mood to make a fool of you at the moment," sneered Hermione.

"Watch it Granger. You're in my territory now, not yours."

"Oh shove off, Malfoy."

Draco stepped closer to Hermione, so that their faces were inches apart.

"Why don't you make me?" he whispered.

Hermione grabbed the front of his robes and pushed him out of the room. "Goodbye Malfoy! Oh, and tell your mother that I won't be joining you for dinner this evening." She slammed the door in his face.

"Stupid git," she muttered. 

Three hours later, Hermione was asleep after unpacking and naming her new owl (Niaj), with whom Crookshanks had problems with.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco was pacing his room, unable to keep his mind off of Hermione. He knew that he had been a jerk to her, and her to him in turn, but something kept telling him that he felt different. His plans of making her life a living hell had gone to pot after his lame attempt at making her feel uncomfortable around him earlier that night.

He thought of her eyes, brown like the earth, and how for some unknown reason they captivated him. A mere three hours ago he had stood next to her, so close. So close that he could smell the sweet vanilla scent of her perfume, so close that he could feel her body heat radiating off of her onto him. It was making him addicted. He needed her. 

But did he?

His mind was racing. How was he even sure that it was not just the particular stance that they were in? Did he really like her? He wasn't sure. He decided to sleep on it, at least for tonight, so that he wouldn't have to deal with it at the moment. Besides, he had the next two weeks to sort out his thoughts....right?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next few days were a nightmare for Hermione. It had only been three days and she'd already had at least a hundred fights with Draco, most of them over the tiniest things. His father hadn't been helping the situation either. He still made her feel uncomfortable. Something about the way he looked at her sent shivers down her spine. Whenever she passed him on the stairs or when they were seated at the dinner table, she could sense his cold grey eyes on her. '_You'll be seeing Harry in two days. Just wait a couple more lousy days and you can see him,' _she constantly reminded herself.

Draco had been on her mind as well. She noticed him staring at her, and whenever they got into fights she couldn't help but have the feeling that he didn't actually mean what he was saying. It was as if somewhere down inside of him there was something good, something not Draco-like at all. But there couldn't be. It was Draco Malfoy after all. Draco "The Evil Deatheater" Malfoy. There couldn't possibly be any good in him at all.......or could there?

After dinner that night, Hermione had finally aquired some alone time and sat down to read a book before she heard violent shouts from downstairs. Curious, she quietly ventured out to find out who they were coming from.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"DRACO LIAM MALFOY! I HAVE TOLD YOU ALREADY THAT YOU _WILL_ BECOME A DEATHEATER! YOU ARE DESTINED TO BECOME VOLDEMORT'S HEIR! NOTHING YOU SAY WILL CHANGE THAT!" boomed the voice of Lucius.

Hermione crouched watching from the stairs as Lucius back-handed his son, propelling him backwards to the floor.

Lucius was loosing his temper again. It was a pretty common occurance in the Malfoy household, and Draco was always at the other end. There were a few occasions that Narcissa was being abused by Lucius, but mostly it was Draco with Narcissa screaming at Lucius to stop.

Draco shouted at his father, his voice straining. Apparently he had been hit one too many times that night. "I WILL NOT BECOME LIKE YOU. I -HATE- YOU!"

Lucius ran up and kicked Draco square in the stomach. Narcissa screamed. "STOP IT! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!" Draco was coughing now, gasping for breath while blood began to trickle out of his mouth.

Lucius turned to face Narcissa. "I'd rather kill him than have him refuse to uphold the Malfoy name," he said coldly.

"And I'd rather be dead than become like you," whispered Draco from the floor, his voice dripping with loathe for his father.

Lucius snapped back around and whipped out his wand, pointing it at Draco. "CRUCIO!" 

There was a howl of pain, and Draco began to writhe on the floor. Hermione was shocked. '_What kind of monster would use one of the Unforgivable curses on his own son?!'_ Lucius took slow steps towards Draco, his hand as steady as a rock, ignoring the pleas from Narcissa for him to stop. Draco screamed out in pain as he continued to writhe in agony on the floor. 

Hermione had had enough. '_As cruel as he is, Draco doesn't deserve this.'_

Hermione drew in all of her Gryffindor courage that she could muster and ran out in front of Lucius. "STOP IT!"

Lucius, not expecting Hermione to jump out in front of him during the middle of all this, lowered his wand. Draco stopped screaming and struggled to catch his breath.

"How could you do this to your own son? Your own blood?" she asked.

"This is none of your damn business."

"It is now. I'm here aren't I?" asked Hermione. She looked steadily into Lucius' steal eyes.

"Get out of here. It's Draco's own fault that he doesn't want to become a deatheater. Now get out of the way."

"No." Hermione stayed put. She could hear Draco's breathing, still hard, slowly steady as he struggled to get to his feet.

"How dare you talk back to me! GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY!"

"NO!"

Lucius raised his wand, ready to perform the Cruciatus curse on Hermione, before she was pushed out of the way by Draco.

"DON'T TOUCH HER! She hasn't done a damn thing to you!"

Before Lucius could even say anything back, Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and, using what little strenght he had left, sprinted out into the gardens.

Once they had stopped, hidden behind a large statue surrounded by honeysuckle, Hermione spoke up.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Save me."

"Because you did it for me."

Hermione silenced herself, staring intently at Draco. His eyes weren't as cold as they had always been, but instead held something else. Emotion.

"Draco, I-" Hermione was cut off by Draco putting one of his fingers to her lips. "Shh," he whispered.

Hermione nodded as Draco strained to listen to their surroundings. Finally, after a few minutes he whispered to her. 

"He was just out here looking for us, but I think he went back inside. It's best if we stay here tonight." Hermione said nothing, but looked into his eyes. She was confused at what just happened. Was Draco actually being nice to her? Sincerely nice? Draco had layed down, and had his eyes closed. She wasn't sure if he was actually asleep yet though. Nonetheless, she took a few more minutes to study him. His face, bruised, looked somewhat angelic in the night air with the moon shining down on him. She watched him breath, his chest rising and falling softly as he slept. It was somewhat hypnotising. She spent the next ten minutes studying every contour of his body before finally realizing one thing:

She was beginning to fall for Draco.

Hey everyone! I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! Please review this one and let me know whether or not you liked it, or if I could do anything to make future chapters better. Oh, and if any of y'all would like me to email you whenever I update, just leave your email address when you review and I'll make a list. 


	6. New Found Friendship

Hiya! I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out! I've been swamped with school and Winterguard. Plus, I wasn't too happy with this chapter when I originally wrote it, so I had to go back and start over again. Hm, what else....oh yeah! plastic, I'm so sorry I didn't email you this chapter before I got it out! I know you're my beta and all, but I'm grounded at the moment and I'm not supposed to be getting on the computer in the first place. I have to be very cautious when posting this too, or I'll get into even more trouble. Please don't be mad! =) I promise I'll send chapter seven to you the second I get it out!!!!

Thanks to Sharon, Sam, pinkchiclet, plastic, alba, gabbygoose, SnOwAnGeL, Ellie, Xirleb70, Anarchy Star, Yaika, TriGemini, Jane, and bassoon1_hotb51 for reviewing!!!! And if I missed anyone, I'm sorry!!! So thanks if I forgot you! =) I'm sorry y'all, I had to be "very very sneaky" when I got the names of these reviewers, and I could have very well missed some of you.

****

Chapter 6:

Hermione awoke in her bed, the covers up around her neck, the golden light of the sun seeping in through the windows reflecting off of the chandelier making it look like millions of diamonds hung from the ceiling. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then stopped suddenly when she realized that she should be outside in the rose garden with Draco instead of her bedroom.

Highly confused, she got up and headed to the shower hoping to wash off the memories of the previous night. A short while later she straightening up her room wearing snug-fitting blue jean capris that fringed at the ends and down the sides, and a cute bright blue shirt with three monkeys on the front that said "See no evil, Speak no evil, Hear no evil". Seeing that her room was fit to leave, she ventured out of her room. When she was out into the hall, for some strange reason she was drawn to going to Draco's room. That was the only part of the house she had never been in yet, and she figured he'd probably know how she got to her bed last night.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco was lying on his back on his bed, lost deep in his thoughts. His mother had found him and Hermione the night before in the honeysuckle bush, and told him that it was safe to go back into the castle. Lucius was fast asleep, and having a strong love for her son, she felt that he shouldn't have to sleep outside on the hard ground. He helped her take Hermione to her room and then went to his own, only to find himself sleeping uneasily. 

Now he was thinking about her. He couldn't stop. It amazed him to no extent that she had helped him last night. She actually stepped in front of him and faced his father, arguing with him and everything. '_That Gryffindor courage sure comes in handy,'_ he mused. 

But where did they stand now? Would things return to normal, him making fun of her and them being hated enemies? _'I hope not,'_ he thought. He needed to talk to her, to figure everything out. He couldn't believe that he actually liked hanging out with one of Harry Potter's best friends. _'What is the world coming to?'_ A second later he heard his door open, and the head of a beautiful brown haired witch poked out from behind the door.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Draco?" Hermione looked in to find Draco lying on his bed, his head turned towards her.

He sat up quickly and walked over to the door.

"Um, hi. Come in." He motioned for her to come in.

Hermione walked in and shut the door behind him. She took a minute to look around his room. His bed was a chestnut sleigh bed with a black sheets and a matching comforter. He too had a chandelier in his room, along with a fireplace and a huge window. She looked down at his desk and found a picture of the Slytherin quidditch team to find them all sneering and whispering to each other, Marcus Flint looking the most menacing. '_Wow,'_ she thought to herself. '_He really does look rather troll-like.'_

Draco cleared his throat and Hermione's head snapped up at the sound of his voice. "Sorry, I was just looking around. I've never been in here before."

"It's okay," he replied. They stood together in silence before Hermione spoke up.

"How did I get back into my room last night?"

"Oh, my mom found us out in her garden. She woke me up and then had me help take you to your room."

"Oh."

Five more minutes of silence followed, before Draco took his turn and spoke up.

"Thank you, for last night."

Hermione smiled warmly. "Don't mention it."

"No, seriously, thank you so much for helping me. I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't."

Hermione walked over to Draco's bed, and sat down indian-style. Oddly enough, she was beginning to feel more comfortable around him now. "Does he do that often?"

Draco noticed how she causually went and sat on his bed. His heart lifted slightly, and he carried on the conversation. "Beat me, or use the Cruciatus curse?"

"Both."

"Pretty often. He doesn't always use the curse, only when he's really pissed," he replied joining Hermione on the bed.

"But why?"

"I don't know. I've always known my father to be like that. He loves to make others insignificant. Its just...him."

Hermione looked down in her lap. "I'm sorry you had to grow up like that."

Draco shrugged. "It's not your fault."

More silence followed Draco's last comment, before he finally asked the question he had been thinking about earlier.

"Hermione?"

She looked up into his eyes. "Yes?"

"Are we...um...do you think we could be friends?"

Hermione was shocked. This was the last thing she expected out of Draco's mouth. Then again, she did just have a decent conversation with him, and he was being really polite.

"Actually, I think we could."

Draco smiled. "Good. But, only until school starts up again. I mean, what would people think if they saw us hanging out together? I'm sure your boyfriend and his dog would have heart attacks."

"Hey! Be nice!"

"Sorry, habit."

"It's okay, but if we're going to be friends then you have to learn to respect my friends too."

"Same goes for you. Crabbe and Goyle really aren't all that daft as they're put out to be."

Hermione folded her arms across her chest and stared at Draco giving him an 'I don't believe you" look.

Draco gave in. "All right, all right. They really aren't that bad though."

"Whatever you say." She smiled. "But yeah, I agree, only until school starts."

"Then everything's back to normal. Deal?" Draco held out his hand.

"Deal," replied Hermione while shaking Draco's.

"Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"I almost forgot to tell you until you mentioned Harry and Ron, but I'm supposed to meet them in Diagon Alley on Friday."

Draco's face turned grim.

"You're kidding."

"Nope, I have to be there by noon. You're welcome to come along obviously, but we can't hang around each other because they'll freak. Especially Harry."

"But making scarhead freak is so much fun."

"Draco," Hermione warned.

"Sorry. Okay, okay. I'll just have to let mum know that we're going on Friday."

"Okay. Oh, and if you let anything slip, _anything_, I will have your head."

"Ooh, touchy touchy." 

"I'm serious."

"Fine. Now leave before I change my mind."

"Why?"

"Because I have to shower, and I really don't care to have you watch me even though my body is simply _impossible_ to resist," said Draco, a smirk playing on his lips.

Hermione laughed. '_Wow, he really isn't all that bad once he actually starts being nice,' _she thought. She got up to leave. "Hurry up so we can do something, I'm getting kind of bored."

"Okay. 'Bye," said Draco while walking to the bathroom.

"'Bye," replied Hermione. 

She walked back into her room and flopped onto her bed, delighted by the day's events so far.

So what did y'all think? Sorry about this chapter being so short. I know that you still haven't learned much more about the "elements" and whatnot, but I PROMISE you will soon. In the next chapter they're going to Diagon Alley, so that should be fun, and Hermione will begin to find out all about her parent's "little" secret. *grins evilly* Until then! =)


	7. Diagon Alley

**__**

Howdy! Long time no see! Sorry for the long wait, but I had to rewrite this chapter over twice. But hey, there's no such thing as good writing, but good re-writing. ;) The next chapter will be out sooner than it took for this one to be out. I've already started writing it. Happy Reading!

Thanks to Rachel M, TriGemini, SnOwAnGeL, sushi, Xirleb70, plastic, bassoon1_hotb51, Queen of the Leather Couch, Sam, Anarchy Star, and Chompie for reviewing!

disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I do own Drusilla Hedgerow, the D'Evereuxs, and the plot. =D

Chapter 7:

The rest of the day didn't go too smoothly for Hermione and Draco, and it all had to do with Harry.

That day Hermione taught Draco how to play football (and he lost 36-0), and Draco taught her how to play quidditch. "If you could only learn how to control your broom you'd be a whole lot better," he told her.

In the evening they were in Hermione's bedroom talking about different books they had read when Hedwig came swooping in through the open window that was letting in the cool night air. Hedwig dropped the letter in Hermione's lap and then left just as fast as she had come. 

"Who's that from?" asked Draco. He was lying casually on Hermione's bed next to her.

"Harry," she replied. Draco said nothing.

Hermione opened the letter and read:

__

Hermione-

I can't wait to see you tomorrow. Sorry, I just had to get that out. I think Ron was getting a bit annoyed with me talking about you like that all the time, so I stopped and everything just sort of built up inside. I know you don't mind me telling you though. Oh, I have a surprise for you. No, I'm not telling you what it is, you'll have to wait and see for yourself. Well, I have to go , Ron and I are having a chess tournament and we're about to start game three. (And yes, he's winning.) See you soon.

Love,

Harry 

Hermione smiled as she folded the letter back up, not realizing Draco was still right beside her. 

"What?" Draco asked.

Hermione snapped out of her short reverie and looked at Draco. "Oh nothing. He's just happy we get to see each other, that's all."

Draco's spirit lowered, as if a two ton weight had been placed on his chest. "Ah." He slowly rose from the bed and then headed for the door, without even so much as a glance towards Hermione. "I'd better go to bed. It's late and we've got to leave in the morning." Before Hermione could even utter the word "'bye", Draco had already shut the door behind him.

__

'That was odd,' thought Hermione.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Damn. He was a fool to even think that Hermione was even interested in him in the slightest bit. She was still going out with Potter, and there was no way that she even felt the same way he felt about her. Things were better off the way they were before; at least before he didn't have to deal with the overwhelming feel of loss.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Friday morning came, and at about eleven thirty Hermione and Draco met each other at the fireplace in the living room to floo into Diagon Alley. 

"Good morning," said Hermione smiling.

Draco said nothing in return, but instead handed her enough floo powder to get to Diagon Alley and back. Then, taking his own, stepped into the fireplace and with the green flames tickling his body shouted "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared from sight.

__

'What the hell is his problem?' thought Hermione. '_I thought we were supposed to be friends.'_ She thought for a moment before realizing that it was because of Harry and his letter that he was acting different. '_But why should that letter be any different? He knows that I love Harry.'_ And that was just it, its because he knows that she loves Harry. '_Oh my gosh! He can't. I mean, its just not possible....Draco can't like me...not like that anyway....no, no ,no........damn.'_ She stepped into the fireplace and flooed to Diagon Alley, Draco in her thoughts the entire time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When she got there a short while later, she almost instantly saw Harry and Ron and went to meet up with them. There was no sign of Draco when she stepped out of the fireplace, and she knew that he arrived in the same one she just had. She knew that they were supposed to act like enemies and all, but she figured he must relaly be pissed off to leave in such a rush. He would've normally liked to sitck around and insult Harry and Ron for a bit.

"Hermione!" Hermione turned around just before she was swept up into an enormous hug by Harry, and then Ron. Her thoughts of Draco were completely forgotten.

"Harry! Ron!" she exclaimed. "You don't know how good it is to see you!"

Harry smiled and kissed Hermoine on the cheek. "Where have you been all summer? You usually come to Ron's about 3 weeks ago," said Harry.

Hermione paused before answering. "Oh, I've just been home all summer. Mum and dad didn't really want me to go anywhere since that's the last time I'll be home for summer holidays before going back to school."

"Its okay," replied Ron. "We were just a bit worried, that's all. We didn't want to say anything to you about it though, we figured you had something important to do."

'_They bought it.' _Hermione smiled before changing the subject. "Let's go get our supplies. We can go to Florish and Blotts last because the books are the last thing on our list." They boys agreed and the three were off.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco quickly found himself to have Pansy Parkinson latched to his arm like leech, flirting like mad. He never even liked Pansy, but at least she gave him the kind of attention Draco had wanted from Hermione.

Hermione.

He was so pissed off beyond belief about her and Harry. He knew it really wasn't her fault, but he felt the need to blame her for it. Nonetheless, he didn't even want to speak to her. He wanted her to feel the pain that he did, and he knew just how to do it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione spent the day with Harry and Ron, much like they always did in the past before the school term started up again. They made their way into Quality Quidditch Supplies (of course), Madam Malkin's, and then to the Owl Emporium to learn how to properly care for Niaj. "I didn't know you had an owl Hermione," said Harry.

"Yup. I got her this summer from my parents." It wasn't all a lie. She _did_ get Niaj from her parents. "Let's go to Florish and Blotts now," she suggested. Harry and Ron agreed, and in a few minutes time the threesome walked into the shop. 

After about an hour, they managed to get all the books they needed and went to stand in line for the cash register. Hermione looked at Ron's stack of books and noticed one there that wasn't on the list. "Ron, what's that?" she asked.

He looked down the the books she was pointing at, took it out of his stack and handed it to her. "I haven't gotten you anything for your birthday yet, and I saw this and wanted to get it for you. You seem to like contoversial stuff."

Hermione looked at the book. _When Lightening Strikes: Voldemort's Rise To Power _by Drusilla Hedgerow.

Hermione smiled. "Thanks Ron!" She opened the book to begin reading when she heard talking behind her. She turned around to see Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, and Pansy.

"And what's the Mystery Machine Gang up to today?" asked Draco. His cronies sniggered.

"Ugh, Granger why did you ever try smoothing down your hair? It looked better when it was big and bushy," said Pansy, her nose held high to show off her self proclaimed radiance.

"Yeah, right, like I'm going to take advice from a girl who resembles a pug dog," Hermione mused.

Pansy glared at her.

Harry stepped in front of Hermione. "Pansy, just shut up. And shove off Malfoy, no one wants you here," he interrupted.

Draco's temper rose. He really hated Harry at the moment. Well, he always had hated him before, but not ever as much as now. He had to insult him really badly. He smirked as a lightbulb went on in his head. 

"Hey Potter, I heard your mum was Voldemort's whore, and that the reason Voldemort killed her was because she started fucking your dad instead of him. Is that so?" he sneered.

Harry began boiling with rage. Hermione saw Harry reach for his wand and, before he could do anything too drastic, she quickly stepped in front of him and glared at Malfoy. "At least someone wanted his mum. I heard that your father had such pity on yours that he forced himself to marry her." 

Draco glared at Hermione.

Ron burst out laughing. "All right Mione!"

"Shut up Scooby, no one asked for your input," Draco hissed. He looked at Harry. "Tell your girlfriend to hold her tongue. She should know better than to associate with someone so much higher than herself."

"Oh give it a rest. You overuse the whole 'I'm a rich and powerful Malfoy' thing," she said coldly. "And you have absolutely no right to say untrue things about Harry's parents like that when your own parents aren't all that great."

Draco arched his eyebrow. She wouldn't dare say what he was thinking she would say...would she? "What do you mean, Granger?"

Hermione decided to bring a little of what she knew about Draco's family life into their conversation. That remark about Lily Potter was uncalled for, no matter how pissed off he was. "I know for a fact that your dad beats the crap out of you whenever you don't do something he wants, and you cower and cry like a little child."

Ron and Harry exchanged puzzled looks. "Um, Hermione?", Harry asked, "How do you know that?"

It was a good thing that Hermione was prepared to answer that question (and lie while doing so), because otherwise Harry would have thrown her completely off guard. Hermione turned around. "I don't really, I just thought I'd make him squirm," she whispered.

Draco's face paled. She did it. How could she have? They made an agreement not to reveal anything about anything of that sort, and Hermione broke her promise. Draco clenched his jaw to surpress the anger that was about ready to explode. Instead of cursing her with his wand like he felt like at that moment, he chose to channel his anger towards a single comment...

"Beatings or not at least my parents care about me, unlike yours who haven't up until a few weeks ago," he growled. His plan worked. She was feeling the pain that he was feeling.

__

'Ouch,' thought Hermione.

"What the hell are you getting at Malfoy?" asked Harry.

Draco shrugged. "Ask Granger. I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you."

"Mione?" asked Harry. She looked up at him. She couldn't tell him, not now anyway. "I have to go," she whispered. She grabbed all her books (including the one Ron was getting her), ran up to the counter and left a pile of money to cover her books, and ran out the door of the shop.

Harry started after Hermione but Draco held him back. "I can assure you she's already gone, Potter." 

"How the-" Harry started, but before he could get any further Draco had left money on top of the pile Hermione had made on the front counter, and left the same way Hermione did, leaving a very confused Harry, Ron, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione had just sat down in the chair in her room when Draco came bursting in. 

"Why the hell did you do that? We had an agreement!" he shouted.

"You had no right to say what you did about Harry's mom. I knew you could be mean, but you went too far," she replied.

"I went to far!? What about you telling everyone how my dad acts at home?"

"And just what the hell did you mean about my parents not caring about me until a few weeks ago? How do you know they don't really care about me?!" Hermione shouted.

Draco silenced himself and stared at Hermione.

"That's what I thought," she said. She sat back down in her chair and picked up the book Ron, or rather herself since she paid for it, got for her.

"Mione," Draco began, but Hermione just ignored him and read the summary on the back of her book.

"Mione please listen to me. I'm sorry about what I said. It's just, I was so jeal-"

"Oh my gosh...This, this can't be right," Hermione interrupted. She didn't even hear what Draco had been saying.

"What's wrong?" asked Draco. He walked over to her and took the book out of her hands.

"Read the back cover," she said, her voice cracking a bit.

Draco flipped the book over and read:

__

From the nineteen-forties to the present, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle a.k.a. Lord Voldemort has been a magnificent yet violently brutal one. From the time the Heir of Slytherin opened up the Chamber of Secrets, The Dark Lord slowly rose to power, gaining followers including what many believe to be his most loyal subjects Peter Pettigrew, Giselle D'Evereux and Gregoire D'Evereux. This book includes an in depth history on his life, and his most recent passion the search for the Elements, the four most powerful stones on earth.

"Ah," said Draco. 

Hermione stayed focused on her lap. "Is it true?"

Draco said nothing.

"Is-it-true?" Hermione asked. Her eyes started tearing up.

"I'm afraid so." 

Hermione looked up at him, a single tear streaming down her cheek. "Then you were right. They don't care about me." She buried her face in her hands and softly began to cry. 

Draco sat down on the ottoman and pulled Hermione into his arms to try and calm her down. "It'll be okay Mione."

"Draco," said Hermione, "I want you to tell me the truth about everything, everything about what you know of my parents and what the Elements are."

Draco nodded. "Okay."

Mwahahahaha! Well I hope you enjoyed that chapter! Now I bet you're all wondering about a few things. For one, for this Drusilla Hedgerow person to put out book about Voldemort and not call him "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" is kind of odd, no? Its supposed to be. You'll find out in the next chapter. Also, I started capitalizing elements because they should be capitalized, I just had never done so before. All right! Now it's time for the reviewing! So click on the little "Go" button on the bottom left hand corner of your screen and tell me what you thought of this chapter. =)

**Emerald Smoke


	8. The Darkness Within

woo hoo! chapter eight is out earlier than i expected!!!!!!! i shoul dhave chapter nine out by tomorrow, no promises though. After some stuff that happened this past weekend, I've become inspired to write more.......and what happens next might be unexpected. I dunno though. I guess we'll find out!!!! 

Thanks to: Sam, Y, Elizabeth Frost/Angelic Ashley, Rachel M, Demetre Ironhilt, Dreamingone, mdemanatee, Sila, Ellie, TriGemini, ShortySC22, bassoon1_hotb51(jessica), SnOwAnGeL, Ash, Jessica, Adeline Wood, SuperXero, and Auntie Kirki for reviewing!

disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any such related things. the lovely JK does. I do own the D'Evereuxs, Drusilla, and anything else that JK hasn't created!

**__**

Chapter 8:

Draco sighed deeply. He looked down at Hermione, her eyes flooded with tears, her face stained with sadness and angst. 

"Draco, tell me," she said, the tone in her voice was more demanding; she was clearly getting annoyed with the fact that he still hadn't told her yet.

Taking another deep breath Draco began. "Years ago, before you and I were even born, our parents were close followers of Voldemort. Your parents were closer than mine were though; they were right up there with Pettigrew. The only difference was that He liked your parents more than Pettigrew, so He used him for all of the dirty work. Your parents got all the 'good' stuff. They always helped him with plans, etc." Draco paused before going on. "Hermione are you sure you want me to tell you the rest?"

"Yes," she stated simply. She had been staring at the same spot on the wall since Draco had started, and her eyes hadn't moved or blinked since.

"All right then. Well, about seventeen years ago, four amulets called 'Elements' came into play. They had been missing for two centuries until they were unearthed by one of the Dark Lord's followers in the Andes Mountains. The Elements have been around for millenia, but no one really knows where they originated. The one thing everyone knows for sure is what they do. Each amulet controls an element: the crimson one controls fire, the emerald one controls earth, the crystal one controls wind, and the icy-blue one controls water. When a person possesses one of these amulets, they have the ablity to control that certain element and use it for whatever they want. It also enables them to be immune to whichever element they have, meaning if they have water they can't drown, if they have fire they can't be burned, etc."

Hermione turned to face Draco. "What happens when one has them all together?"

"They can control virtually everything, and mostly likely have enough power to take over the world. And that's what Voldemort was trying to do. But, much to his dismay, Dumbledore and everyone on the light side found out about his plan and tried to stop him. Voldemort discovered this just in time and hid the elements somewhere that not even Dumbledore could get them. They've been missing ever since."

"That's so weird. But, I really want to know more about my parents though."

Draco feared this was coming, but he wasn't going to lie to her. That was the last thing she needed at that moment. "What do you want to know?" he asked uneasily.

Hermione closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "For starters, have they ever killed anyone?"

"Yes."

Hermione's breath shortened, but she quickly regained her composure and asked another question. "If they've killed anyone then why haven't they been put into Azkaban yet?"

"The Ministry has absolutely no evidence of anything they've ever done. Not one damn trace of evidence. It's obvious to everyone that's seen this whole story unfold that they're closely connected with Lord Voldemort, but nobody can prove it."

Hermione nodded. "I have one more question."

"What?"

"Are they still connected to, to Voldemort?"

Draco slowly nodded his head. "And so are mine."

Hermione's eyes started tearing up again.

"Hey, consider yourself lucky though," said Draco trying to cheer her up a little. "You've never had to attend any of his meetings, or balls, or dinners."

"You've been?" she asked curiously, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, they're awful. The balls and dinners aren't too bad generally, just filled with loads of his kind of people. His meetings on the other hand, are a different story. New deatheaters are required to kill a muggle for initiations. There's one killed at almost every meeting."

Hermione thought of her muggle "parents" at one of those meetings, being killed by some wizard who was stupid enough to bind himself to Voldemort and his other followers. Little did she know that they actually weren't muggles after all...

The two sat in silence for a minute or so, before, "Draco, thank you for telling me everything."

"Well it's not necessarily everything, because I don't know much more and there's most likely more to all of what I just told you."

"Still, thanks. And, I'm sorry for what I did to you earlier tonight. It wasn't my place to do that, and I had promised you that I wouldn't."

Draco smiled. "Thank you, but don't worry about it. What's done is done."

"True," she replied. Something still wasn't quite right though. "Hey, why did you suddenly do a 180 last night?"

Draco's expression dropped and he suddenly became a bit nervous. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. Last night after I got that letter from Harry you got all angry, and then you were really rude this morning. And, this evening at Florish and Blotts, I've never seen you acting like such a prat. What the hell happened?"

Draco remained cold. "I still have no idea as to what on earth you're talking about."

"Yes you do!", said Hermione getting annoyed, "and I want to know what was wrong!"

****

"Fine," Draco said, the tone in his voice rough. "Do you want to know what was wrong? It was Harry and that stupid letter. Ever since I saw you at the D'Evereuxs I've wanted you. You've brought out something in me, I don't know exactly what. Your insults in the library that one night made me realize how much of an ass I had been, even though I kept denying it. You got me away from my father, which I can guarantee you no one has ever done that, and asked to be my friend. You are so unlike anyone I've ever met. Most girls practically throw themselves at my feet, but you didn't. You're different. You are so smart, and so beautiful, and just when I get the slightest feeling you feel the same way, Harry comes into the picture. It's killing me that you're still with him, but I can't do anything about that. He loves you, and unless I'm mistaken you love him too." Draco chuckled bitterly. "I don't even know why I'm even telling you all this, nothing I say is going to change anything."

He got up from the chair and walked over to the wall next to the desk and leaned his head against it. His face was filled with hate and rejection.

Hermione was speechless. She had no idea all of that had been building up inside of him. She guessed that he might've somewhat of a crush on her, but nothing at all like this. The more Hermione thought about it, the more she realized that she did feel the same way he did. She saw what no one else saw in him. She could see through the persona he had created for himself over the years and look deep within his soul. 

She looked at him, his eyes were shining brightly under the dim light of the room and his hair, even though he had spiked it that day, looked so soft. She got up from the chair and slowly walked in front of him. She stopped, and then took a step closer to him. Looking down, she took each of his hands and grabbed them in her own before looking back up. Slowly, their faces moved towards each other until they were merely an inch apart. Finally, Draco did what he had been wanting to do ever since that night in D'Evereux Manor:

He kissed her. 

Mwahaha....time to review! tell me what you think!!!!!!


	9. The Crimson Element

HEY!!!!! I'm back! yay! I did a LOT of writing at my grandma's house. The change of scenery helped me out a lot. So here's a nice long chapter for you. I really hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to review!!!

I've passed the 100 mark, woo hoo!!!! Thanks to ShortySC22, TriGemini, Befuzzled, bassoon1_hotb51, Sam, miss madison, GeekGoddess, SnOwAnGeL (my 100th reviewer, go you!!!! :D), neda, aprilreader, Saber, Xirleb70, Jessica-Black, xxsw33thunni3xx, Crystal Slytherin, and HardyGxtreme for reviewing. :)

disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any such related stuffs that are in the books. I own only the D'Evereuxs, Ducky, etc., and I'm making no profit from this. I'm just doing it for pure fun! :)

**__**

Chapter 9:

Draco's lips touched Hermione's and lingered for a moment, before deepening the kiss. His tongue lightly brushed against her lips, and she parted them allowing him in. She let out a soft moan as she raised her arms up and placed them around his neck. Draco's body shivered as Hermoine ran her fingers through his hair, the sensation making him want more.

Hermione melted into Draco as they kissed, and time itself had stopped. Never in her wildest dreams had Hermione imagined she'd be kissing Draco Malfoy, yet there she was.

She had never ever been kissed like this. Draco was so gentle with her, even more so than Harry if possible. He wrapped his arms around her waist firmly yet softly, as if he was worried about breaking her. His lips were soft, like there were thin sheets of silk layered over them, and when they touched Hermione's lips they sent shivers down her spine.

Hermione moved one of her hands down to Draco's chest and pressed up against it, and Draco moved one of his hands up to cup her face. The kiss was dramatically intensifying, when-

"Master Draco, sir, Master and Madame Malfoy are home, and they is requesting you and Miss Hermione's presence at dinner in an hour, sir." Ducky the House elf had arrived, following through on his orders as always.

Hermione and Draco had pulled apart by this time. Hermione was smoothing out her robes, while Draco on the other hand stood as stiff as a board, despite the fact that he was smoothing his hair. He cleared his throat.

"Ahem........Let them know we will be there," he said.

"Yes sir," Ducky replied, and with a grand bow he bounded out the door.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Yes, well, I guess I'd better go start getting ready." She opened the door, then stopped and turned around to face Draco once more. She smiled. "I feel the same way you do." The shut the door behind her on her way out.

Draco grinned to himself. He couldn't remember when he had been more happy in his life then he was at that moment. Things were finally falling into place.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A half an hour later Hermione was in her bedroom fixing her hair. Every once and a while she grinned, thinking of the kiss she shared with Draco. But, eventually her thoughts would land on Harry. She'd have to discuss the whole situation with Draco later that night. As for now, she had to worry about sitting for an hour with a man she was utterly afraid of...Lucius.

She looked back into the mirror. Her hair was almost finished, she just needed one or two more bobby pins. She walked into her bathroom where the smell of vanilla wafted through her nostrils from the softly flickering candles on the countertop. "Dammit," she said aloud. "Where are those bloody pins?" After digging through her drawers, she finally spotted them in the corner of the counter. Without thinking, she reached over one of the candles to get the pins, oblivious to the fact that fire does indeed burn things. "Blast," she muttered, as the pins slipped from her grasp. At this point she should have been screaming bloody murder for her wrist would have been cooked like a sausage, but oddly enough she didn't. She finally got hold of the bobby pins, and walked back into her room with them. A few minutes later however, she ran back into the bathroom.

"_Merlin," _she whispered. She lifted her wrist and stared down at it, and then at the candle. It had just come to her realization that part of her arm should have been burnt to a crisp by now, yet it wasn't. She thought back to what Draco had said earlier that night.

__

"...It also enables them to be immune to whichever element they have, meaning if they have water they can't drown, if they have fire they can't be burned, etc...."

She looked up into the mirror with a look of total shock on her face, and then dashed from her room to Draco's.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco had just changed into his more nicer robes when Hermione came bursting into the room. 

"Hello beautiful," he smiled. His face quickly turned to that of worry however, when he saw Hermione's shocked expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worry lining his smooth voice.

"No time to explain. Come with me." 

Before he could even answer her he was being drug off to her room. A minute later they were in her bathroom. "What on earth are we doing in your bathroom?" he asked.

"Shh. Just watch."

Hermione grabbed one of her candles, and brought it close to her. Then, taking one of her fingers, stuck it right in the middle of the flames.

Draco lunged forward. "Mione! Are you mad!?" he started, but Hermione cut him off.

"Just watch," she replied.

Draco looked down. The small flame was dancing wildly around Hermione's finger, yet she wasn't being burned. He looked up at her.

"How the hell?" he asked. She set the candle back down on the counter. "I have no idea," she replied. "But, I was thinking back to what you said earlier, and...well, you're going to think I'm a bit daft, but..."

"But what?"

"I think I may have an element."

Draco's eyes widened. "What? But how would you have them!? Do you have any idea how much danger you'd be in if you have them, or even just one?" 

Hermione nodded. "I do, but think about it. There's no other possible way I could have avoided being burned by that candle."

Draco sighed and sat down on the rim of her bathtub. "All right. Let's say you do have the elements, or at least one. Where would they be?"

Hermione frowned. She looked down at herself. She was wearing a plainly elegant white dress, no shoes, her star shaped earrings with the blue stones in the middle, and about a dozen bobby pins. She looked up into the mirror and stared at herself, trying to think where exactly an element would be on her body, when her head moved slightly, and one of her earrings sparkled from the reflecting light on the mirror.

Can anyone say "epiphany"?

"Draco," she began. "I think I know where it is." Draco stared at her as she turned to face him. "It's in my earrings." She took both of them off, and handed them to Draco. She then grabbed the candle once more, and stuck her finger in the flame. Not even a second later had she retracted her finger, blowing on it to try and cool it from the heat. 

Draco looked down at the small studs in his hand. "Hermione, you can't tell anyone about this do you understand?"

Hermione nodded. 

"Here, just put them back on and wear them like you normally do. We'll talk more about this later tonight."

He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. "See you at dinner." He smiled and then walked out the door.

Hermione took a deep breath and then finished getting ready. She knew exactly who she had to tell about this, but she had to wait an entire week to do it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione walked along the cold corridor alone, her navy blue robe billowing behind her. Shivreing, she wrapped the cloak tighter around her as she continued, heading toward Draco's room at. They had planned to meet there at midnight, to sort out everything.

Dinner had not been as bad as she was dreading it to be. She mostly stayed quiet, only speaking when she was spoken to. Afterward, she returned to her room where she counted down the hours until she got to see Draco again. Her heart lept higher with every step she took, a smile gracing her face. She couldn't wait to feel his lips against hers again. Turning a corner, she was now only thirty or so feet from his bedroom door when she heard a cold, smooth voice.

"Miss D'Evereux...what are you doing in this wing so late at night?"

Hermione turned around to see Lucius Malfoy, wearing robes of black, his hair pulled back in a ponytail, shutting the door of a room he had just come out of. 

"I...was...just...just going to the library, she lied. '_Nice one Hermione, you dingbat,'_ she cursed herself.

Lucius smirked. "I daresay you'll have some trouble finding it, seeing that the library is in the east wing of the house."

'_For someone who is a the their class at school, you aren't too bright, Hermione,'_ she cursed herself again. She paused, thinking of something else to come up with, and just as she was about to spit out another lie, Lucius spoke again.

"Well, I suggest you be careful when you're wandering around alone here...there's lots of things you'd be shocked to stumble upon..." he slowly took a few steps closer to her so that they wre merely inches apart, and dropped his voice to almost a whisper, "we wouldn't want you to get hurt." His cold grey eyes flashed before he turned on his heel and heded down thte hall. SHivereing slightly, Hermione continued on, though walking at a faster pace. Once at the door, she opened it quietly and walked in.

A cool breeze drifted over her face from the open window across the room. Moonlight shone through it, streaking across the floor, mixing with the light from the chandelier overhead, creating a soft, pearly glow. 

Her heart still beating faster, Hermione quietly closed the door behind her and walked across to the window. Draco was no where to be seen.

"Maybe he had to go speak to his mother or something," she whispered aloud. She prayed that he didn't run into his father and have another riff with him. She closed her eyes and sighed. Where was Draco? Just then, she felt a pair of arms seize her around her waist, but before she could scream, the person whipped her around so she could see him.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his bright smile in the light.

"Where have you been? And why did you sneak up on my like that?!" she asked. She was slightly annoted, but nontheless extrememly glad he was there.

Draco laughed. She looked so cute when she was angry. "I was only joking."

Hermione suppressed a amile. 'Yeah, whell, I -hate- it when people do that to me. Ron does it all the time." She looked at him, he was still laughing slightly. Raising an eyebrow, she asked "where have you been, anywya?"

He stopped laughing, but still held the smile on his face. "I've been here the entire time. Potter's not the only one with an invisibility cloak." He gestured to his right and Hermione saw a small heap of silvery, water like material lying on the floor. 'Where'd you get that ?" She knew invisibility cloaks were hard to come by.

Draco shrugged. "My father."

'_Figures'_, she thought.

They both looked at each other, before Draco walked away from the window and plopped down on his bed. Hermione followed suit and sat down next to him. He smiled, pulling her closer to him so that her head was resting on his chest. Everything felt so right, like puzzle pieces falling into place. 

Hermione lifted her head up to kiss him, just a soft simple kiss. She wished that she could just stay in that moment forever...but, she knew that she couldn't.

"Draco," she started, reluctantly sitting up from the comfy position she was just in.

"Hm?"

"We have to figure out what we're going to do."

Sighing, Draco nodded.

"Okay, first off. This whole...element thing. What am I suppoesd to do about it? Do I act as if nothing's going on? I mean, I have an idea as to what I can do-"

"Yes," Draco replied sharply. "Listen Mione, you have absolutely _no_ idea how much danger you could be in if people knew you had the Fire."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off.

"I've been doing some thinking. We need to find out if you have any more Elements and, well, if you're up for it....we could do a few..._experiments_."

"Experiments?" Hermione replied. "On who?" There was no way in hell she was going to play guinea pig.

"On you."

Hermione's expression at these words clearly showed how she felt on the subject, but Draco quickly explained. 

"Just some testing to see if you have anymore elements. I promise nothing will happen to you."

There was a moment's silence before she agreed. "It's only because I trust you though. If anything happens to me..."

He smirked.

"'And," she continued, "as I was going to say earlier before I was so rudely interrupted," she gave a smirk, "I was going to go straight to Dumbledore about this."

Draco stared. He had never been too fond of Dumbledore.

"I mean, it's only logical. Dumbledore knows loads about, well everything, and I bet you anything he'll know how to deal with this."

Draco shook out of his short stupor. "Alright, but I'm going with you."

"Why? I can handle myself."

"Yes, but you don't understand, Mione. If word gets out that you have an element..."

Hermione supressed a small smile. "Okay okay, fine." She closed her eyes, thinking of how amazing it was for him to care that much about her. She liked Draco, a lot, but she wasn't sure about loving him yet. She was still closely attached to Harry, and there was still a part of her that wanted to stay with him. He was her whole life for so long, but now things were changing. Opening her eyes back up, she sighed again, saying "Now, about school."

Draco knew this was coming. There was no way to avoid it.

Hermione continued. "Like we agreed earlier, once school starts everything goes back to normal."

"No," Draco replied.

"What?"

"Listen, we can go back acting like enemies, but there's no way that I'm going to stop feeling the way I do for you."

Hermione looked shocked, but deep deep down she was very impressed.

Draco continued. "Look, Heads share a common room and their bedrooms are connected to each other. We only need to bicker when we're in public."

"It must be getting late, otherwise I would have thought of that," Hermione said, smiling. It was getting late though, they had been talking for an hour already. She got up, getting ready to head back to her room when Draco grabbed her wrist. 

"Stay here tonight."

She looked into his jewel-like eyes. "But won't-"

"My parents room is on the other side of the mansion. And, if for some reason they were to come here, theres a secret passageway that leads into the library in my closet behind the shelves in there. You could slip in there and be back in your room in no time at all."

Hermione was hesitant, but gave in to Draco's pleading look. "Alright."

He scooted over, allowing her room on the bed. "I promise I won't do anything," he said.

She smiled, slipping beneath the covers next to him. She felt his arm wrap around her waist, his body pressed against hers. Everything felt so wonderful, so right, but she couldn't help the feeling of guilt about what she was doing to Harry.

Slowly, she found herself giving into sleep. But before she fell into slumber, she whispered to Draco.

"Draco?"

"Hm," he murmured. His voice sounded so smooth. Not cold like his father's, but full of warmth.

"Promise me one thing."

"Mm hm," he mumbled. His voice was softer now...she then heard the slow, steady sound of his breathing...he was fast asleep.

"Please don't fall in love with me."

*Gasp*!!

Ah jeez, what am I getting myself into? I can see the flames now. LOL! Please help me out by reviewing this chapter and telling me what you think. Seriously you guys, think about it if you were in her shoes: You had been dating this awesome guy with whom you were deeply in love with, who you've known forever, and all of a sudden someone you've hated for a long time suddenly is in a whole new light in your life. Wouldn't you be confused too?? I know I would. Also, this adds some things I can work with...you won't be disappointed. Just keep reading. :)

**Emerald Smoke


	10. Aboard the Hogwarts Express

__

Hello all! Long time no see huh? Well I'm back! Marching season is over and I can now resume my writing. :) Thanks to ShortySC22, TKDgirl, Yaika, Xirleb70, Eriador, PixieStix6, Sam, White Raven1813, rachel m., Hello, the kath, Ash, jess, SnOwAnGeL27, Ezmerelda, Adeline Wood, Anarchy Star, Tri Gemini, littlespeedy225, and lady-sanctuary for reviewing! So, this chapter is a little short, but it's mainly a transition chapter, so what do you expect? I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, and give me some feedback okay?

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK does**. **

Chapter 10:

The familiar scent of burning coal and the sight of the scarlet steam engine as she walked onto Platform 9 3/4 made Hermione smile more than ever. She couldn't wait to get back to school. She like staying at Draco's and all, but she loved Hogwarts very much.

She looked sideways at Draco, to see that he had already gone off and reacquainted himself with his usual gang of Slytherins. Hermione sighed. Just an hour ago she was with him, laughing and joking like friends....like more than friends....and now it was back to the way it was. At least, to the outside world. 

She was confused beyond belief. She couldn't decide on whether or not to break it off with Harry. Plus, she was having regrets about what she had said a few days ago. Thank Merlin he didn't hear her. She glanced at him again. He was laughing; oh how she missed his mischievous smile, the way his eyes danced when he did. But then she saw Crabbe nudge him in the shoulder, and her thoughts immediately vanished from her mind when she saw his smile turn into a sneer. She quickly looked away, slightly taken aback. This wasn't going to be as easy as it had seemed.

"Hermione!"

She turned around to see Ginny Weasley running toward her, arms outstretched, red hair flying out behind her. 

"Ginny! Oh, I missed you!" she exclaimed as the two hugged. "What have you been up to all summer?"

"Not much really. Fred and George are earning loads from their joke shop. It's amazing what they've come up with so far. Charlie and Bill came to visit. Bill brought me a fanged necklace back from Egypt. I'm not really sure what exactly the fangs came from, though they look like vampire teeth to me...I don't wear it much," she added with a grin. "What about you? I was really sad when you couldn't come to the Burrow this year."

Hermione stopped. She wanted more than ever to tell Ginny the truth about everything: how her biological parents showed up on her birthday and turned out to be Death Eaters, how she had to stay at the Malfoy's part of the summer, how she had an Element...

"Well, my parents took me white water rafting in the States. We were gone for a while."

"Wicked! You'll have to tell me all about it later." Ginny glanced down at her watch. The train was going to leave in 2 minutes. "Come on, let's go find Ron and Harry. They're already inside."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"What the hell does she think she's doing, staring at you like that?" asked Blaise Zambini when he and the bunch of Slytherins had caught her.

"Who knows how those filthy mudbloods work?" Draco replied flatly. It was slowly eating at him treating her like that, but then again he was a Malfoy, and was taught very well how to hide his feelings. Snorting, he looked away from Hermione and back to Blaise. "Let's go. The train's about to leave."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Hey Mione," said Ron as she and Ginny walked into the compartment on the train that Harry and Ron had picked.

"Hey," she replied, plopping down next to Harry. He smiled at her. "So what did I miss this year at the Burrow?"

Ron, Harry, and Ginny all grinned evilly at each other. 

"We can't tell you right now, but I promise we'll tell you later," said Ginny. 

Slightly disappointed, Hermione smiled and nodded her head understandingly and looked out the window. Harry's arm wrapped around her and pulled her closer so that she was now resting against his chest. He smelled absolutely delicious.

"Harry, are you wearing Curve?" she asked him. Curve was her favorite scent by far.

Harry blushed slightly. "Erm, yeah. Aunt Petunia bought it for Dudley, but it wasn't the one he wanted. He started shouting and threw the bottle at my head. Thank Merlin my quidditch reflexes kicked in and I caught it right before it smashed into my forehead. And well...I thought it smelled good..."

Hermione smiled. "It's my favorite cologne."

"Oh really?" he smiled mischievously. 

She nodded.

"Well I'm glad you like it then."

She grinned and turned to look at the passing scenery outside. Ron and Harry had started a conversation about quidditch ("There is no way that Scotland is going to win against Bulgaria this year"). Their arguing voices, the soft sound of Harry's breathing, and the warmth of his body against hers as Hermione leaned against it made her fall asleep. Everything was back to normal...or so it seemed at least.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A half an hour later the door to their compartment slid open to find Draco and Pansy standing on the other side.

"What do you want now?" Ron sighed heavily.

"Prefects meeting with the heads in the front compartment on the right of the train. Sorry Weasel, they don't allow rodents in," Draco sneered.

Ron got up to go after Draco, but Harry was too quick for him and pushed him back down. "Calm down Ron. Don't let him get to you." He glared at Draco, who smirked in return. 

Pansy looked down at Hermione and rolled her eyes. '_What the hell is her problem?'_ Hermione thought, glaring straight at Pansy. "Come on Harry, Ginny. Let's get this over with." She grabbed Harry's hand and looked straight at Draco; he cringed slightly, but Hermione was the only one who noticed it. She pushed straight past him and Pansy and walked to the front compartment with Harry and Ginny. 

With one last glare at Ron, he slammed the compartment door shut and headed back up to the front.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A short while later Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and the rest of the Prefects were sitting in the compartment at the front of the Train.

"All right, Dumbledore has asked that we go over standard rules and procedures for before, during, and after the Sorting Hat Ceremony tonight," Draco began, passing around pieces of parchment with everything written down on it. "Returning Prefects will already know what all goes on this evening, but the newly appointed ones will not. Just read over this list I've come up with and you should be okay."

Hermione sat there with her mouth slightly open watching Draco give instructions to the Prefects. It was odd for her to see him acting this......non-power hungry. 

"Granger, would you kindly close your mouth and act more like Head Girl?" Draco whispered sharply in her ear.

Hermione shook out of her stupor and turned to Draco. "Sorry, I just thought you'd be more controlling and less agreeable with your Head Boy powers."

"I have to act this way otherwise we'd get nothing done. Speaking of getting nothing done, I'm surprised you haven't jumped right in with a speech on how honored you are to have become Head Girl." He smirked.

Hermione shot him an evil glare before looking about the room. "Does anyone have any questions?"

Everyone looked at each other; no one raised their hands.

"Make sure that you welcome the first years warmly, yet set a firm ground on the rules. Meeting adjourned." With that, the Prefects began standing and filing out of the room.

__

Make me happy and please review!!!

**Emerald Smoke


End file.
